Written by Aiden McGuire
I think most Americans would struggle to keep quiet if they were asked what wins or losses at awards shows upset them. You don’t need to be told the Academy makes mistakes. Of course that happens — it’s impossible to make everyone happy. It is not for personal disagreements that I avoid watching the Oscars, but a more fundamental problem in my eyes. Take, for example, one of their most egregious crimes: awarding Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) with best film editing despite most TikToks putting it to shame. It is instances like these that suggest something more sinister about the Academy. Not only are they failing to recognize the truly brilliant, but they are actually rewarding the failures. It is evidence of a crack in the foundation — crucial failure that the industry has been marinating in for nearly a century. The culture of the business and the voting structure shoulder most of the blame.
Imagine the Academy as the governing body of the film industry. What it awards and doesn’t award informs the “law” at the time. Female empowerment is in this year. Superheroes are out. Maybe biopics are the new fad. It doesn’t matter. Depending on these trends, filmmakers (and more importantly, studios) know what to make to secure awards. And to the Academy, this must seem like they have a limited pool to choose from. Such a system leaves both parties in a very boring feedback loop. Of course, supply and demand in the entertainment industry isn’t as simple as that, but if it doesn’t work in theory, why would it in practice?
It is this dichotomy that spins the film reel round. Like American politics, the winners determine the voting as much as the voting determines the winners. The key difference being the body of voters in the Academy is somehow even more overwhelmingly white and male. And yes, the vast majority are old. Though such a state of affairs is neither shocking nor rare, surely even your most annoying film major friend could argue that an exclusive pool of industry veterans would appreciate film the best. But that isn’t true either. In fact, there are multiple instances of Academy members admitting they don’t watch all of the nominees before voting. And that’s just for movies. How many do you think are reading through the screenplay options?
If you care about the Oscars, there’s nothing wrong with that. Obviously filmmakers deserve recognition, and maybe attitudes like mine only pick apart the best option they’ve got. I just don’t think the Academy is in the recognition business. They are in the business business. Did Greta Gerwig get snubbed? Does it matter? I’m more concerned with the Mattel cinematic universe coming our way. Maybe we will finally get an Uno movie. Or an Apples to Apples trilogy. Talk to your friends about the movies you love. Rank your favorites every year and argue and bicker and fight with one another. That’s the buzz that matters.
